Where Is Ali MacGraw Now? What Happened to the ‘Love Story’ Actress After Disappearing From Hollywood
In 1970, Ali MacGraw shot to fame opposite Ryan O'Neal in the romantic drama Love Story, portraying Jennifer Cavilleri. Decades later, she walked away from Hollywood and fans began to wonder what happened to her.
What Happened to Ali MacGraw?
Prior to her breakout role in Love Story, Ali, who was born on April 1, 1939, in New York, made her first credited acting appearance in 1969’s Goodbye, Columbus. Early on in her career, she was married to Robin Hoen from 1960 to 1962.
For her role in Love Story, Ali earned a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
After the success of Love Story, Ali made a dozen more acting appearances, including 1972’s Getaway with Steve McQueen. She finalized her divorce from her second husband, Robert Evans, in 1973, and married McQueen that same year. Their marriage lasted until 1978.
Ali welcomed one son with Robert, Josh Evans, in 1971. She and McQueen did not have any children together during their marriage. McQueen died in 1980, at age 50, from a heart attack after undergoing surgery to remove cancerous tumors from his body.
Decades after her ex-husband’s death, Ali opened up about their marriage and what she had hoped for their romance.
“I wish we had both grown old sober,” she told People in July 2018. “There were wonderful days and dreadful days.”
From 1972 to 1978, Ali took an acting hiatus, before returning to the big screen in Convoy.
Ali later appeared in episodes of The Winds of War and Dynasty. Her most recent acting appearance came in 1997’s Glam.
In 1986, a friend encouraged the Players actress to check into the Betty Ford Clinic to treat her alcohol addiction. She opened up about the experience in her 1990 book, Moving Pictures.
“My stay there was the most terrifying and life-changing experience I’ve ever had,” she said. “I began to feel an underlying peace and sense of order that I had yearned for forever.”
Where Is Ali MacGraw Now?
Since her last acting appearance, Ali moved to New Mexico and has been living a rather blissful life out of the spotlight.
“You know, I’m a strange old bird at this point,” she told The New York Times in May 2024. “I live north of Santa Fe, kind of in nature, and I’m very involved with the community. I’m blessed to be in good health. and I know so many people who don’t have that choice. I have a life that makes me happy.”
She admitted that her life and priorities have changed dramatically since the height of her fame in the ‘70s.
“I’m grateful I had all that, but I live a very different life now,” the New York native told the outlet. “I don’t care at all about being seen in the latest piece of clothing or knowing the latest song. I don’t feel diminished by not knowing those things. I did it all and was looked at, and that was for another time.”
